Cheekwood Estate Nashville TN

There was so much to do while staying in the Nashville area. We had already visited the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum downtown. Now we wanted to visit the Cheekwood Estate Nashville TN.

There’s so much history in an estate of this nature that I often wish the walls could talk. But unfortunately they don’t. Instead I needed to do my research online and learned so much.

The day we visited the Cheekwood Estate Nashville TN it was overcast and quite muggy so we were happy to wander through the vast mansion. This house tour took us through formal rooms that recall a long past era. It was fun imagining that we were visitors of the Cheek family listening to music in the Drawing Room or being served multiple courses of elegant food in the Dining Room. But we were also treated to a fabulous art exhibit as well since part of the house has been converted to an Art Museum.

About Cheekwood

In addition to being a wholesale grocer, the Cheek family owned Cheek-Neal Coffee Company, the creators and brewers of Maxwell House Coffee and Tea. The specialty blend was named after and marketed by the best hotel in Nashville, the Maxwell House. The success of the brand catapulted the local business into nation-wide production and is said to have captured the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt, who exclaimed that it was “good to the last drop!”

Cheek-Neal was created by Joel Cheek, the cousin of Leslie Sr.’s father C.T. Cheek. C.T. had been an early investor, and Leslie Sr. bought stock as well. In 1928, the Postum Company, later renamed General Foods, purchased Cheek-Neal Coffee Company for $45 million. As an investor, Leslie Sr.’s fortune quickly expanded, likely also expanding his plans for Cheekwood.

The Origin of Cheekwood

What do you do if a singular piece of furniture is too big to fit in one’s home? Simple. Build a bigger house, of course! The origin of Cheekwood, as a concept, is traced to a family story involving Mabel Cheek making sure her husband, Leslie Cheek, Sr., kept his word to build a bigger house that could hold a gilt mirror, too tall for their current home in the 1920s. Cheek allegedly told his wife, “I suppose we will have to either sell the mirror or a build a house to fit it in.” After reciting these options, the couple set out to combine their tastes, interests, and family names “Cheek” and “Wood,” the maiden name of Mabel Cheek, into the design of a grand estate, to be called “Cheekwood.”

Bryant Fleming

The Cheeks chose architect Bryant Fleming of Ithaca, New York, to design all of what would become Cheekwood. In addition to the design and construction of a house, the gardens, surrounding landscape, and all of the necessary buildings were assigned to Fleming, who was a great talent in both landscape and structural architectural design.

When Fleming received the Cheek assignment, he and the Cheeks set off for England to study the architecture and interiors of great English country estates, and to acquire antique furnishings, decorative objects, and historic, architectural elements that would go in to the construction of Cheekwood.

The Heyday

In 1932, Leslie Sr., Mabel, and Mrs. Wood moved into Cheekwood. Their children were away at school while Cheekwood was under construction. When they came home for summer vacation, large, lavish parties were thrown, making headlines near and far.

Leslie Cheek, Sr. died suddenly at age 61. As his family and the surrounding community mourned the loss of a man described as, “a man who gave every casual acquaintance the impression of sincere friendship, and, to those who knew him better this friendship became a personal thing, which never lacked for proof of its reality.” Mabel, who was now a widow, continued to live and care for Cheekwood. She took great strides to maintain and perpetuate the home she built with her devoted husband. Their daughter, Huldah, would go on to marry Walter Sharp in the Cheekwood Drawing Room. Their son, Leslie Jr., married Mary Tyler Freeman and settled in Richmond, though frequently visiting their Nashville family.

The Drawing Room

The Drawing Room was the most opulent room in the house. But despite its grand scale small clusters of furniture arrangements gave groups of guests the opportunity to sit and converse comfortable.

Huldah Cheeks wedding was held in this Drawing Room on February 14, 1942. Her veil was made from lace worn by the Empress of Australia at her coronation in December 1916.

End of an Era

Mabel Wood Cheek passed away in 1946. She was 72. She left the furnishings, fine art, and family heirlooms to her two children and grandchildren, of Leslie Jr.  Huldah, who had settled in Nashville, was deeded the Cheekwood estate, and thereafter lived at Cheekwood with her husband, Walter, and later with their daughter, Leslie.

From Private to Public

In 1957, Huldah and Walter Sharp suggested that Cheekwood, the buildings and surrounding grounds, to become a public garden and fine arts center. After cultivating the idea and the fundraising efforts of the Exchange Club of Nashville, the Horticultural Society of Middle Tennessee, and many other civic groups and individuals, the necessary funding was achieved. The Nashville Museum of Art had disbanded, and offered the new institution the funds amassed from the sale of the Museum’s building and to transfer its permanent collection to Cheekwood to help establish the new primary destination for visual arts in Nashville. On May 31, 1960, Cheekwood opened its gates and doors to the public.

 Botanical Gardens

The grounds of the Cheekwood Estate are vast and so beautiful. The dogwood trees and azaleas were in full bloom when we were there in addition to daffodils and tulips. The gardens were a riot of colors. The kitchen garden was vast but it was too early for anything but the herbs, which were plentiful.

Café

As Steve and I meandered across the grounds we noticed a lovely area for having a bite to eat or something to drink. An lo and behold, the window to order was opened to we did just that. It was so delightful sitting in that area which I think was most likely stables at one time.

Sitting there made me realize just how lucky we are to be The Traveling Locavores!